Globally, participation in higher education has risen substantially. According to the OECD ( Education at a Glance 2012) entry rates to university level programmes in OECD countries grew on average by nearly 25 percentage points between 1995 and 2010. Consequently, more than a third of today’s young people have higher level qualifications than their parents and around 62% of young adults are expected to enter university - level programmes over their lifetimes.

Newbattle Abbey College hosted the National Adult Education Conference on 20 March 2013.  Eighty delegates from a wide range of settings (including Community Learning and Development (CLD), Local Authorities, Higher Education, Further Education, Trade Unions, Learners’ Groups and Adult Education Networks) gathered to discuss the current state of affairs in Adult Education in Scotland, and to create an action plan.